Streaming Quarterbacks: Week 9 Targets

Oct 29, 2019

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Every week is weird in its own unique way.

Scott Pianowski speaks the truth. We’re left in shock or amazement after each week of games for different reasons. Last week it was the backups and ancillary players showing out. Week 8 featured the rookies. David Montgomery and Miles Sanders finished as RB1s with their own electrical performances. DK Metcalf continues to use his size and speed to his advantage, catching a pair of touchdowns. The abilities we fantasized over throughout the summer have slowly become reality as the freshmen continue to acclimate to the game. The same goes for the rookie quarterbacks. Daniel Jones and Gardner Minshew sit in the QB1 ranks for Week 8. Matchup worked in their favor, but both have been able to take advantage of coverage breaks. It’s that intersection of talent and matchup that headline our process here and these traits are what we look for in recommending streamers as we head into Week 9.

Other Week 9 Streaming Articles: TE | K | D/ST

Week 9 is another four-team bye week with notable starters out of the lineup. Ownership percentages have risen for a lot of our favorite streamers causing us to look long and hard at the matchups for waiver-wire relief. Plus, Week 10 features 6 teams on bye. Fantasy managers should start their look ahead now to avoid missing out on positive matchups in a couple of weeks. But, for now, let’s start with the review of last week’s plays.

Week 8 Review

Our worst week to date with only one recommendation making it into the QB1 ranks. Here’s how the scores ended up:

Jacoby Brissett – 9.48 points (QB27)
Ryan Tannehill – 19.4 points (QB10)
Mitchell Trubisky – 7.12 points (QB29)
Mason Rudolph – 16.0 points (QB16)

Brissett had a season-low 25 pass attempts reducing any chance of him meeting his previous week's expectations. The fear was always there that Indiana would lean on their run-heavy scheme as they entered Week 8 with the sixth-worst overall passing rate (49.0%). That held in Week 8 as they passed on 50.0% of their plays in a low-scoring affair. Matt Nagy is slowly losing trust in Trubisky as his passing skills and rush attempts have disappeared this season. It’ll be difficult to recommend them in future weeks unless the matchup dictates the recommend, but for now, consider them as matchup-based starters only.

Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed

Of course, our next stop is 4for4’s Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed ranks updated through Week 8. The trade deadline looms making some of these ranks even more ominous as some of the losing teams may look to move their more valuable assets as they look to the 2020 season. Notable rankings for defensive units include:

NYJ down 7 spots to #13 (15.3 aFPA)
DET down 6 spots to #25 (20.1 aFPA)
TEN down 4 spots to #15 (15.6 aFPA)
BUF up 4 spots to #9 (14.4 aFPA)
IND up 4 spots to #12 (15.2 aFPA)
WAS up 4 spots to #21 (18.3 aFPA)

Key Defensive Injuries

Finally, we’ll review injuries along with the guidelines that will be used each week to find viable options on the waiver wire:

Only quarterbacks with no more than a 50% ownership in Yahoo leagues considered.
Ancillary metrics and game conditions (e.g. defensive ranking, weather) will be factored into the analysis.
Positive matchups for all pass catchers to be considered.
4for4 rankings should always be consulted for league-specific decisions.

J.J. Watt (Texans, Chest) – The worst news for an already struggling defense. The Texans’ All-Pro defensive end announced he tore his pectoral muscle in their victory over the Raiders. He left in the second quarter, was quickly ruled out, and the news came out shortly after. Houston’s secondary (20.4 aFPA) was already a target and now their interior takes a significant blow. Leonard Fournette gets to test the weakened defense as the Texans travel to Florida in Week 9.

Other Notable Injuries: Lonnie Johnson Jr. (Texans, Concussion), Trumaine Johnson (Jets, Ankle), Isaiah Irving (Bears, Quad), John Cominsky (Falcons, Ankle), Denico Autry (Colts, Head/Neck), Josh Mauro (Raiders, Groin), D.J. Hayden (Jaguars, Shoulder)